Floating inner pan for refrigerator cabinet doors



Feb. 24, 1953 J. s. PALMER 2,629,141

FLOATING INNER PAN FOR REFRIGERATOR CABINET DOORS Filed April 11, 1.950 2 SHEETSSHEET l Feb. 24, 1953 J. s. PALMER 2,629,141

FLOATING INNER PAN FOR REFRIGERATOR CABINET DOORS Filed April 11, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Mei/257: /0/4145 J aZ/m/fl Patented Feb. 24, 1953 war FLOATING i Jferser" INNER PAN FOR REFRIGERATOR Jenn .Ifalm Erafisville, .5 e-s ne t Intematio'nal Harvester flon'ipanyfafqorporation Application April11, 1950, Serial No. 55,3;1

This invention relatesjto refrigerating apparatus, but mo e par icularlytothe .refr eetat reab net construction and the provision'of'irnproved means for slidably supporting the inner panel of thecabinet door."

,Inthe conventional refrigerator cabinet the door is usually fabricated in two p arts,i. e., the outer sheet section andthe inner panel section. The outer sheet is generally stamped out of a'flat metal sheet and is provided with turned over edges to form rearwardly' extending top; bottom and side sections which, in turn,- are'provided with inwardly turned peripheral edges forming flanges upon whichthe inner panel may bei'ixedly secured. The space between theinner panel and the outer sheet is generally filled with a low heat-conducting insulation; material. In the pastboththe outer sheet and vthe inner panel have been fabricated from metal, hence the thermal conductivity characteristics of both sections 1 were substantially identical. Recently, however, it has been the practice to fabricate the inner panel of the doonfrom a,,:low heat-conducting non metallicj material while the outer sheet is fashioned frommetaL' Becauseof this dissimilarity 'of ,materials and the inherent difference inthe'coeflicient of expansion thereof, this practice created a new problem evolvingfrom the unequal expansion and contraction of these two door sections when fixedly secured to oneanother. The result of this unequal expansion and contractionflfrequently causes distortion and-twisting of the door which, in turn, disturbs the alignment thereof and, accordingly; makes it'difficult to maintain ,a good seal around :the resilient gasket generally provided between the door and the cabinet. Heretofore various means have been proposed to accommodate a limited amount of expansion and contraction in one section'of the door without disturbing its associated section, thereby partially compensatingforthe differences in coefficients of expansion of the materials in the two door sections. Such devices as have been proposed, however, have not been entirely satisfactory and thus theprincipal'obje'ct of this'invention, therefore, is "to" provide an improved meanstfor slidably mounting'the inner panel in arefrigerator cabinet door."

Another obj ect'is to provide an improved means for mounting-an innerpanel in floating relation with respect to the outer panel in a refrigerator door so as to permit the free expansion and'contraction thereof;

A further object is to provide an improved refrigerat'dr cabinet door wherein "anon-metallic inner panel is securedin suohmanner as to permil; i f e anei ndep' ireeti it t ot e'ou e p ne q se s A still further 'object is to'provide a refrigerator cabinet door comprising an outer metallic section and an inner non-metallic section 'in which the inner panel is iree to "expand an'd'contract without disturbing the augment ofthe door. J M

Another important object is to provide achanaemember o mount n h i s an in floating relation to the outer pa nel of r'efrigerator cabinet door.

A further object is to provide an improved means for mounting aninner panel in floating relation with respect to the outer panel andto so position such means with 'respect' t o the gasket seal that' said se alwill conceal said mounting meansf romthe view of an observer;

The foregoing and otherobjects and features of the invention will become apparent asjthe disclosure is rnor fully metin the following deta'iled description of a preferred embodiment' of the invention as illustrated inlthe accompanying sheets drawin inwhieh Fig. 1 isafirontyiew of a refrigerator cabinet it c a t brelse a ay- K Fi -3.1 fra me t vi w iak e one ma na e e ih in e pan ie e door.

Fig.3 is anisometric view of a portion of the fastening member 'ernbodied in the present inenfi Fig. 4 is a sectiontaken on line 4-1 of Fig. 3.

Fig. a section taken on,line 5-;5 of Fig. 1 showing the assembly of the inner panel in'the stemn em e l H V Referring speciiically to the drawings, it will neted theta el ent ial.f e i tyre of refrigerator cabinethas been illustrated, but, since the present invention is likewise applicable to other types-of refrigerated cabinets, its'application should not be limited tothe specific embodiment shown. In the drawings, the numeral Ill indicates a conventional refrigerator cabinet comprising an inner shell H spaced from an outer shell l2 and separated ,theref-rom*bysuitable insulation material l3 and "aclosuredoor 14 hingedly supportedby hinges I 5"to-said outer shell. jIhe outer-and'inner shells are more or compasses a food storage compartment IS the air in which may be cooled in conventional manner by means of mechanical refrigerating apparatus including a compressor-condenser unit located in the lower rear portion of the cabinet but not shown since the refrigerating apparatus forms no part of the present invention and any of the well-known types may be used. The forward marginal edge of the outer shell 12 may be bent back over itself and then inwardly as indicated at I! to form a channel having parallel spacedapart extensions or lips l8 and [9, while the forward marginal edge of the inner shellmay be angled over to form an inwardly projecting flange or lip 20. A preformed breaker strip'2l, fashioned from a low-heat-conducting plastic or fibrous material of the non-hydroscopic and nonmetallic type, is fashioned preferably so as to provide a transversely curved contoured portion proximate one edge thereof. Such member may, if desired, be fabricated in'a plurality of sections and then installed end to end around the door opening, but, for the sake of appearance, it is preferred that such member be fashioned so that only one such section is required on each side and one each on the top and bottom of the door opening. The ends of each section of the breaker strip member 2| may, if desired, be mitered or angled as indicated at 22 to improve appearance and facilitate assembly.

A turned-in lip or flange 23, fashioned along one marginal edge, and a lateral extending lip 24 spaced inwardly from the opposite marginal edge of the breaker strip member may provide abutments for purposes which will be more fully explained hereinafter.

The spring clip member, indicated generally by the numeral 25 and fashioned from suitable resilient material, such as spring steel or the like, is provided with an inwardly bent portion proximate one end thereof while the end itself is inwardly turned as indicated at 26, and the opposite end of said member is formed with a fiat portion 21 contiguous with a large radius curved portion as shown at 28. Spaced from one end of the clip, on the face opposite the inwardly turned portion 26, there is provided an outwardly projecting extension or lip 29 which, if desired, may readily be fashioned by punching a portion of material out from the clip. This lip, preferably, is located at the point where the end portion 26 joins the fiat portion 21. A plurality of such clip members may be employed and it has been found desirable to provide a sufiicient number to permit spacing at intervals of approximately six inches throughout the length of each section of the breaker strip member. In assembling a breaker strip of this character, in a refrigerator-cabinet, a-spring clip 25 is first positioned so that the lip 29 thereon abuts the rib 24 on the breaker strip member, then the opposite or curved end portion 28 of said clipis forced into abutting relation with the lip or flange 23 so thatthe portion of the clip between the ribbed abutments becomes spring loaded. Additional clips'may similarly be placed in position against the individual sections of the breaker strip after which each section maybe placed in position between the inner and outerwalls of the cabinet, The foregoing breaker strip construction is illustrated only as a preferred embodiment for arefrigerator cabinet of this character, and, sinceithas been further described in aco-pending'application Serial No.

86,103,,filed April'l, 1948, now. U. S. Patent No. 2,587,922, issued. March .4, 1952, entitled .Breaker 4 Strip Construction, it forms no part of the present invention.

The door l4 comprises an outer shell 30 of dishlike conformation having upwardly extending sides 3| which are bent inwardly at right angles to form a peripherally extending inner wall portion 32, the marginal edges of which are bent inwardly substantially at right angles to form an inwardly turned flange 33 spaced from said side wall 3|. The flange and rear wall portion extend peripherally about the rear of the door and provide a supporting member upon which a door gasket seal and an inner panel may be mounted. A resilient'door gasket seal 34, having a longitudinally extending opening 35 along one edge thereof that opens into a pocket 36 therein, is positioned against said rear wall portion 32 and secured thereto by any suitable means, such as the self-tapping screws ,3! which, in turn, are threaded into openings 38 in said wall portion 32.

A longitudinally extending clip-like fastening member 39, which is fashioned preferably from some suitable material such as spring steel or the like, is formed with a bight'section having spaced apart parallel legs 40 and 4| connected by a cross leg 42 at one end thereof, and further provided with an outwardly extending flange member 43 that extends at right angles from one end of the leg 4|. Aplurality of openings 44 and 45 of different diameters but axially aligned, respectively, in opposed legs 40 and 4! are adapted to cooperate with the screws 3'! for fixedly positioning said fastening member. The openings 44 in the leg 40 are large enough to permit the head of the selftapping screw 31 to pass therethrough without obstruction, while the openings 45 in the leg 4| are somewhat smaller and are adapted to freely accommodate only the shank of said screws. With this arrangement the fastening member 39 may be fixedly secured in position against the inner wall of the pocket. 36, of the gasket 34, by the same screws that retain the gasket in position against the rear wall portion 32. Access to the screws may be had through the large openings 44 in the leg 49. In the embodiment illustrated the large openings 44 are shown as being slotted and extending partially into the cross member 42, but. it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific type of opening shown.

The inner panel section 46, of the door 14, is fashioned preferably from a non-metallic lowheat conducting material that may be contoured as indicated, or otherwise, without departing from the spirit of the invention. Heat insulating material 41 may be disposed between said inner panel and the outer shell 30. edges 48, of said panel, however, preferably are fiat with all of said edges lying in the same horizontal plane,..while the thickness of the panel should approximate the distance between the opposite legs in the fastening member 39. Slotted openings 49 along the marginal edges of the panel, and spaced at intervals to correspond with the interval spacing of the openings 44 and 45, in the fastening member 39, are provided for the purpose of facilitating access to the screws 31 after said panel has been positioned.

In the assembly of this door structure the fastening member 39 is usually first slipped over the marginal edge of the inner panel 46 while the gasket seal 34 is positioned around the opening and against the rear wall portion 32 and the holes therein line up with the openings 38 in .xsaid... wall portion. .The, inner .paneL. with the The marginal fastening means thereonjmay then be slipped through the slotted openings 35, of the seal 34, and into the pocket 3'5 therein until the inner face of the extending flange d3 firmly abuts the outer face of the flange member 33 of said rear wall portion. With these members now in position the upward portion of the gasket seal may be turned upwardly out of the way, while the screws 3? are threaded into the ligned openings respectively in the fastening member, the gasket seal and the rear wall portion 32, thus slidably securing the assembly.

Since the spacing of the opposed legs in this member approximates that of the thickness of the inner panel member, it will be appreciated that while the panel will fit snugly therein, it will be free to expand and contract without disturbing the alignment of the outer shell. Furthermore, the spring-like characteristic of the fastening member will serve to firmly retain said inner panel member, thus eliminating rattle, without unduly restricting the movement thereof because of expansion and contraction.

From the above it will be appreciated that the present invention provides a simple and inexpensive, yet effective, means for mounting an inner panel in a refrigerator door in floating relation with respect to the outer panel thereof in order to permit the free expansion and contraction of said panel.

Although only a preferred form of the invention has been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various modifloations without departing from the spirit thereof, and it is desired, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A cabinet door comprising sheet material formed to provide front, top, bottom side walls, with the top, bottom and side walls each having an inwardly turned rear wall portion and an inwardly turned flange depending therefrom,

a resilient gasket secured to said rear wall portions and. extending around the rear edge of the door having a pocket in one side thereof, a fastening member formed with spaced apart and substantially parallel legs with a flange depending from. one leg thereof, said fastening member being adapted for positioning in said gasket pocket with the flange of said member positioned so as to overlie in closely abutting relation the depending flange of said rear wall portions, means for securing said fastening member and said gasket to said rear wall portions, a panel forming the inner side of said door and extending between said rear wall portions with the marginal edges thereof extending into said fastening mom. er and into frictional engagement with the spaced apart legs of said member whereby said member securely holds said panel in floating relation with respect to said walls.

2. A cabinet door comprising sheet material formed to provide front, top, bottom and side walls with the top, bottom and side walls each having an inwardly turned rear wall portion and an inwardly turned flange depending therefrom, a resilient gasket secured to said rear wall portions and extending around the rear edge of the door, said gasket having a longitudinally extending pocket opening in one Side thereof, a resilient clamping member having spaced apart and substantially parallel side wall portions with a flange depending from the end of one of said side wall portions, said clamping member being posiwith the spaced apart wall portions of said member whereby said member securely holds said panel in floating relation with respect to the said rear wall portions.

3. A cabinet door comprising sheet material formed to provide front, top, bottom and side walls, with the top, bottom and side walls each having an inwardly turned rear wall portion and an inwardly turned flange depending from the marginal edge thereof, a resilient gasket secured to said rear wall portions and extending around the rear edge of the door and having a pocket in one side thereof, an independent fastening member formed with spaced apart and substantially parallel legs with a flange depending from one leg thereof, said fastening member being adapted for positioning a portion. thereof into said gasket pocket and being further arranged so that one face of the flange thereof overlies and abuts one face of the depending flange of said rear wall. portions, means for securing said fastening member and said gasket to said rear wall portions, a panel forming the inner side of said door and extending between said rear wall portions with the marginal edges thereof extending into said fastening member and into frictional engagement with the spaced apart leg portions of said member whereby said member securely holds said panel in floating relation with respect to said walls.

4. A cabinet door comprising sheet material fashioned to provide front, top, bottom and side walls, with the top, bottom and side walls each having an inwardly turned rear wall portion and a coextensive inwardly turned flange depending therefrom, a resilient gasket disposed so that substantially the entire seating surface thereof is positioned on that portion of each of said inwardly turned rear wall portions that extends between said inwardly turned flange and the respective top, bottom and side walls, said gasket extending around the rear edge of the door and being provided with a pocket opening into one side thereof, a longitudinally extending fastening Iner her having spaced apart and substantially parallel portions with an integrally fashioned flange depending from the end of one of said leg portions, said fastening member being provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings axially aligned in the opposite leg portions thereof, said fastening member being positioned in said gasket pocket and further arranged so that one face of the depending flange thereon overlies and abuts in contacting relation one face of the depending flange of said rear wall portions, means including self-tapping screws for securing said fastening member and said gasket to said rear wall portions, and screws being selected so that the head of each will pass through an opening in one leg of the fastening member but only the shank thereof will pass through an aligned opening in the opposite leg of said member, a non-metallic panel having a plurality of slotted openings disposed at intervals around the 7 peripheral edges thereof, said panel forming the inner side of the door and disposed so as to extend between said rear Wall portions with the marginal edges of the panel extending into said fastening member and into frictional engagement 5 with the spaced-apart leg portions of said member while the slotted openings in the panel cooperate with the openings in one leg of said fastening member to provide access to said screw securing means thereby securely holding said panel in floating relation with respect to said walls and without interfering with said securing means.

JOHN S. PALMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,296,024 Drake Sept. 15', 1942 2,339,566 Goulooze Jan. 18, 1944 2,347,090 Drake Apr. 18, 1944 2,507,305 Jacobs May 9, 1950 

